Automatic film advancer for roll film cameras and brake and release means therefor



Oct. 20, 1953 w. F. HORNS 2,656,123

AUTOMATIC FILM ADVANCER FOR ROLL FILM CAMERAS AND BRAKE AND RELEASE MEANS THEREFOR Filed Oct. 29, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.4.

[46 Inventor 76 7o 22 Win field E Horns W. F. HORNS AUTOMATIC FILM ADVANCER FOR ROLL FILM CAMERAS AND BRAKE AND RELEASE MEANS THEREFOR Filed Oct. 29, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. .3.

Inventor Winfj/d F. Horns- Mm arm W 3m Patented Oct. 20, 1953 ATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC FILM ADVANCER FOR ROLL FILM CAMERAS AND BRAKE AND BE- LEASE llIEANS THEREFOR Winfield F. Horns, Kankakee, Ill.

Application October 29, 1948, Serial No. 57,202

This invention relates to improvements in an automatic film advancer for a roll type camera and is by way of particular improvement over the type of transmission mechanism disclosed in my co-pending application Serial No. 42,003, filed August 2, 1948, which discloses a novel braking means for a conventional spring motor and a novel control means and release means for the braking means.

The object of the present invention is to pr0- vide certain improvements for simplifying the braking and control means, reduce the number of parts and obtain a more inexpensive device, which is more efiicient and smoother in operation and results in material practical advantages as will appear hereinafter.

The principal purpose of this invention is to automatically control the successive positioning of the exposure sections of a roll film in alignment with the lens action of a camera by automatically preventing the transmission of power from a spring motor to a driven shaft of a winding spool, whenever the successive exposure sections are aligned with the camera lens.

A meritorious features of this invention resides in the provision of a control unit for actuating a brake mechanism to brake the spring motor, the control mechanism being mounted on the driven shaft of the winding spool and including a wheel having a series of circumferentially spaced adjustable cams which, as the wheel is rotated on the driven shaft by the spring motor to wind themselves on a feeding spool, sequentially engage a tripping mechanism for actuating the braking means.

Another meritorious feature of this invention resides in the provision of a manually operated rectilinearly moving lever selectively engageable with the tripping" mechanism for releasing the braking means and rendering the spring motor operative to drive the driven shaft and unwind a predetermined length ofthe roll film off a feeding spool onto a winding spool.

These and ancillary objects and other meritorious features are attained by this invention, a preferred embodiment of which is set forth in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a conventional folding camera with an automatically controlled film transmission mechanism, constructed in accordance with the principles of the instant invention, associated therewith;

F'igureZ is a planview of the film transmission mechanism;

6 Claims. (01. 242-71) Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3--3. Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4, Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a view in perspective of the actuating structure for opening and closing the brake shoes on the brake drum, and

Figure 6 is a view in perspective of one of the cams adjustably and detachably carried by the cam wheel.

A conventional folding camera [0 is shown in Figure 1 and includes a hingedly mounted front member I: upon which unfolds a conventional bellows l4 having a lens I6 disposed at the outer end thereof. The particular structure of the camera is not material, as this invention, generally designated by the character reference I8 is adapted for attachment to any type of camera, which uses a roll type film. In this respect, the film advancing or film transmission structure, I8, is secured at one of the longitudinally extending side edges of the camera casing, in a manner so that the lens and shutter mechanism of the camera is not obstructed nor the operation thereof impaired.

The film advancing structure is disposed in a housing 20 defined by one of the sides 22 of a camera and a longitudinally extending parallel partition member 24.

A driven shaft 26 is rotatably mounted transversely through the side walls 22 and 24 of the housing 20 and is provided at its inner end with a flat key 28, adapted to lockingly engage in a conventional groove or slot formed in a film roller or spool. A knurled knob 30 is formed integrally on the outer end of the shaft and disposed'exteriorly of the camera casing, sothat, if desired, the shaft 26 may be manually rotated to rotate a winding spool disposed on the keyed end 28.

The shaft is splined as at 32 and a gear 34 is disposed on the shaft adjacent the splined section. A pair of oppositely disposed pawls or dogs 36 and 38 are carried by the gear and are urged into engagement of the splines 32 by spring bars 40.

A conventional spring motor 42 is carried by a shaft 44 and is drivingly connected with the gear 34 by means of a driving gear 46 carried by the shaft 44 and an intermediate idler gear 48, the latter being secured on a bearing stud 56 extending inwardly from the Wall 22. A knurled knob 52 is formed on the outer end of the shaft 44, so that the spring motor 42 may be manually wound. Thus, the spring motor 42 rotates the gear 46 and through the gear train rotates the 3 gear 34, carrying the dogs 36 and 38 engaged in the splines 32 to rotate the shaft 26. The shaft 26 is slidably disposed to move the keyed end 28 inwardly and outwardly relative to the wall 24, so that a Winding spool may be inserted and removed from the camera.

Means is provided and said means forms the major subject matter of the instant invention, to automatically controlthe rotation of the driven shaft 26 by braking the spring motor 42 and rendering the same inoperative.

ing in the Wall 24 and is secured to the-gear 34 by a collar 35. A gear 56 is rotatably disposed on the sleeve, adjacent the gear 34 and-a-smaller gear 58 is non-rotatably disposed onthe sleeve adjacent the wall 24. A gear reduction system including a gear 68 mounted on a stud 62 and disposed in meshing engagement with the gear .5Biand azsmallergear 64 carried by the; stud and disposed in meshing contact with the gear 56 is :lprovided; Thus, as the gear- 84 rotates: to rotate the driven shaft 26, the gear 56 is rotated through the gear reduction system and a carrrwheel 66 formed J integrally therewith is I rotated correspondingly. The cam wheel 66 isprovided with a 1; series of circumferentially arranged peripheral -"slots 68 \within' which are adjustably and detachably positioned a series of cams I8. The;cams I pending apertured lugs .'I6,:the same being adapt- :edcto :receive the fastening member I2 for positioning .the working surface of the. cam in a selectedpre-arranged position on the cam wheel.

.A control lever I8, is freely disposed at one end on a transverse'lshaft 88 which is rotatably jourrinalledi-tbetween the walls. 22 and 24. A dog 82 ,;is formed with a lower rounded end which is pivrotedastat 64 tothe otherend of the lever I8, and

the lever is provided with a lateralofiset cam Lend 86-2engaged on the cam wheel .66. 1' An operating lever 88 is secured on the spindleor shaft-.88,

."adjacent the pivoted end of the control lever I8.

The lever 88 is provided with: an end extension "90," the. latter being ofiset from the, -longitudi-. nal plane of the lever to extend in a plane be- :tween thexcontrol lever 18 and the lever 88. ;A slatching protuberance or a shoulder 92 is formed laterallyonthe dog 82, above the pivot. point 84 and is projected forwardly to engage on the ex-' tended end of-the lever 88 to lockthe operating .=levera:88 tothe control lever i8for movement with ythe-latter, to controlthe operation of thespring motor, .as will be later described; The extending end of the lever is formed with a semi-circular or .arcuate'recess 89 toreceive the rounded end of the dog 'at-the pivot. An arm- 94 is pivotally carried bythe upper end of the dog--82 and has a pair I of parallel laterally extending pins 95 and 91. :.A

spring 96 is anchored at one end to the pin' 95 and'secured at its otherend to a pin'98 which ex- .tends transversely between the walls 22 and 24. The spring 96 functions to retain the shoulder'92 ,in engagement on the end of the operating lever In this respect, a sleeve 54 is disposed on the shaft-ZEi-betvveenthe; wall 24 and the gear 34. The sleeve-has: a bear 4 88, adjacent the lever 88. The other end of the spring is inturned from the anchored end and bears against the top edge or upper surface of the control lever 18.

5 A connecting link I84 is pivoted as at I06 to the end of the offset end 98 of the lever 88 and is pivoted at its other end, as at I88 toa block lever III). ActuatingdinkslI2rand IIlI, -are pivoted to the other end of the block lever and'are pivotally associated as at I I6 and H8 with a pair of arcuate brake shoes I28 and I22. The brake shoes ,are commonly;pivoted together as at I24 and operatively=disposed on a brake drum I26 secured 7 ona transv erse shaft I28. When the brake shoes are clamped on the brake drum, as will be later described, 'the spring motor or driving means is rendered inoperative through the medium of a gear train I30. The gear train includes a gear I32- secured on the shaft I28, an intermediate idler gear I34 journalled on a laterally extending bearing :stud: .I-36- and a, gear" I38rsecureck on the a driving :shafts v44 of the spring motor 42. :aWhen the shoulder192 is engaged-on the. end of the lever s;88',-\as seenhin; Figures 3. and ,5; the brake :shoes are clamped on the ,brake drum I26 and the gear train I38 is. lockedso that rotation is denied the gear '46 and the driving shaft 44' and .thesming motor is" prevented: from unwinding However, upon disengagement of the lockin oulder 92 from the .endgof thelever :88,-. a sprain 1:402 wh h is secured at one end tosthe blQCkrlBYerJ-JO biases ,or, urgesthe block lever to;,open-;th e arcuate, brake shoes, the latter moving about the common. pivot point 124, out of'clampinggen a emcnt, ,of the brake drum. The-block 1ever,. ;I0, as itjis moved to its brake opening positiqnr, actuatesz the link I I174, which .is v connectedito theyextensionflu ofthe lever 88, and moves-the end ,oii-the lever-2,88,, which s ad pted ,to en a e. :the shoulder :92 ,of the do 40 82, away from the camwheels66. spring 140 --is anchored at; its othergend'to an angular bracket I42; which is securedas at I 44 to :the; inner surfaceaof the wall ,2 4-, 1 The ,bracketMZ also .functions as astop blockto engageitheiblock lever III] and: control the extent of opening ofi-th brake .shoes. i

. Manually. operated =,actuating meanslis pro- :vided for disengaging the shoulder 92 from the lever 88 and-includes altubularior rod-like mem- -ber 4146; .whichisslidably disposedthrough the ,-lower. end of the camera casing andmounted for rectilineanmovement inwardly of the casing. A -knurled knobor button 148 is formed :onthe out- ;ser: end-f. theiltubessonthat the same may be a pushed inwardly. The tube travels through a -:cylindrical. guide el 50 and resilient means 1 52 is rdisposed aboutethetubelbetween the end of the :guide; and a stopplate. I54 secured hon-the tube. In thisgrespect;the tubelis automaticallyreleased or: urged outwardly, after. being pressed inwardly byrmanual pressure applied to the button l 48. A lever-I56 -is pivoted as at iI58 in theinner end of the tube and is providedtwith'an offset cam end I 66 engageablewith the lateral pin 91. The lever is formed, .adjacentits pivoted end,- with a-latera1 extension I 62,-whichfis engaged by aspring bar I 64 piv0ted. as at I 66 to the tube. Inthis manner, the cam end I68 ismaintained in the same horizontal plane, except for amomentari'ly downward -movement caused bythe sliding-engagement of the cam on the pin 91, beforethehook is moved upwardly by the spring I 64 into latching engagement with the pins.-

fiheaoperation lof this device is believed very simple and may be described as followsi- Aspool 'of sensitized photographic film is disposed in the usual manner on a pair of spindles or the like in one end of the enclosing case and the outer end portion of the film is unwound to extend it past the lens and shutter mechanism and over a winding roller, which is locked on the key end 28 of the shaft 25. The portion is attached frictionally or otherwise conventionally secured to the unwinding spool and the cover of the enclosing case is replaced in its normal position. The spring power unit or spring motor 42 will be readied for operation by rotating the knob or wheel 52 and the camera will be employed in the conventional manner, the film section aligned with the shutter mechanism being exposed by employing the shutter control button ISil.

After the first frame or section of the film has been exposed, the user will press button or thumb wheel M8 to align the next and proper specified section of the film with the lens. The inward movement of the thumb button I48 causes the tubular member I45 to slide inwardly and moves the cam end or terminal ISI? of the lever I55 into looking or latching engagement of the lateral pin 97. Release of the button I48 allows the spring 52 to bias the tubular member l st outwardly and correspondingly move the dog 82 about its pivot point fi l releasing the shoul 'der 92 from engagement of the lever end 88. At

this moment, the spring I48, being under tension, contracts and moves the lever end as in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Figure 3, the pivot block moving to the left and the actuating links H2 and Il functioning to move the brake shoes I28 and 522 about their pivot point I2 3 into an open position. This unlocks the gear train E39 and allows the spring motor to operate, whereby rotation is imparted through the gear 56:, it and 3a to the shaft 26. Rotation of the shaft 25, of course, rotates the winding spool secured on the key end 28. As the shaft 26 rotates, the cam wheel Be is rotated and the cams 1i! rotate integrally therewith. As the cam wheel rotates, the cam corresponding to the next section or exposure frame of the film is brought into engagement with the cam end 86 of the lever. When the section is nearly aligned with the lens, the cam end 86 engages the working surface of the dog 82. When the cam end 86 of the lever it engages the working surface of the cam It, the dog 82 is moved away from the cam wheel as and around the end of the lever 88 until the shoulder 92 engages the end of the lever 38 and moves thereon to a position thereabove. When the shoulder moves about the lever 88, the spring 9?; contracts and moves the dog forwardly about its pivot point to latch the shoulder onto the lever end 88. Then, as the dog 82 moves past the cam I0, the arm 88 and dog carried thereby are urged toward the cam wheel 66 by the spring see, and into engagement therewith, the lever 85, engaged by the dog, moving the arm 78 and thereby moving the lever end 9b to the right as viewed in Figure 3, with the block lever I I 9 being moved into a position, shown in Figure 3 to close the brake shoes. This, of course, immediately brakes the spring motor 42 and the film section is held in alignment with the lens and shutter mechanism.

' Obviously, the cams it are adjustable on the circumferential periphery of the cam wheel s0 that various sized film can be employed in an accurate manner. Inasmuch as the spacing between the cams it? carried by the cam wheel corresponds to the spacing between each sucoessive sensitized section of film, it can be seen that for some film, the cams would have to be adjusted. However, it is proposed to provide a scale or the like on the cam wheel, so that the same may be adjusted in accordance with various types of conventional film.

Obviously, after every exposure of the film, a new section will be placed in position by the automatic mechanism, reactive to inward pressure exerted on the knob H18. Of course, the drive mechanism and control and braking means is adapted for attachment to every type of conventional camera that employs a roll film. And yet further, the mechanism can be successfully employed for use in transferring successive sections of other material or for use with various types of winding and reeling devices, wherein an automatically controlled and operated winding device is desired. Thus, since many other purposes and objects of this invention become apparent to those skilled in the art, upon a perusal of the foregoing description and accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that certain changes may be eifected thereon as coming within the spirit of the invention and scopeinvention, what is an automatic film transmission device including a driven shaft engageable with a winding spool, a prime mover operatively associated with said shaft, a cam wheel carried by said shaft and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced adjustable cams, braking means for said prime mover to successively brake the prime mover so that each successive sensitized section of the film is positioned for exposure, a lever actuated by said cam wheel operating said braking means, and release means selectively releasing said braking means, said release means including a slidably disposed cam selectively engaging said lever and resilient means responsive to engagement of the cam with the lever.

2. An automatic film winder for a roll film type camera comprising a spool winding shaft, drive means for rotating said spool winding shaft, a cam wheel operatively connected to said drive means for rotation thereby, cam means on said wheel, mean for braking said drive means, a control lever mounted for movement towards and away from said cam wheel, an operating lever movably mounted adjacent said control lever and operatively connected to said brake means, means responsive to engagement of said control lever with said cam means for selectively locking said operating lever to said control lever for movement therewith, and means engaging said control lever for urging said operating lever into its brake actuating position when said control lever is disengaged from said cam means.

3. An automatic film winder for a roll film type camera comprising a spool winding shaft, drive means for rotating said spool winding shaft, a cam wheel operatively connected to said drive means for rotation thereby, cam means on said wheel, means for braking said drive means, a control lever mounted for movement towards and away from said cam wheel, an operating lever movably mounted adjacent said control lever and operatively connected to said brake means, means responsive to engagement of said control lever with said cam means for selectively locking said operating lever to said control lever for movement therewith, and means engaging said control levenfoi' urging saidi operatingzleven into its brake actuating; position whensaid control leverris dis-f engaged :from said 12am :means;mea-ns for, selec tivelygreleasing saidmeans' for locking operatinglever to said' control lever, andmeans -for urge ing said brake means to. itsinoperative position.

, 4.:Anautomatic-fi1m winder for a. roll .film type camera-comprising a spool winding-shaft; drive means for rotating said spool winding shaft; a cam wheel -operatively connected to said--drive meansfor'rotation thereby; a earn-member on said wheel; means-for braking-said drive means, a controlj lever mounted for movement towards and awayfrom'said: cam wheel, means yieldingly urgingsaid control lever into engagement withv said cam wheel to beactuated by said 'canrmem: hen-an. operating lever disposed-adjacent said: control lever -and operativelyconnected to said brake means, means,for locking said operatinglever-to said control lever for-movement therewith,-cam means on one of said levers for selectively actuating said lever locking means 1 in response-toengagementof said controllever with said, cam member -onsaid; wheel,--whereby' saidmeans for urging said: controllever intoen gage ment with said cam wheerurges said operatinglever-rinto itsbraking position-when said control lever passes said cam member, and.- meansfor selective-1y releasing said locking means.

5.' Anautomatie -film; winder'for' a roll film type-camera comprising a, spool winding shaft, drive means -for rotating said spool winding shaft,

a cam-wheel operativelyconnected'to said drive means for-rotation thereby,- a oam member-ons aid wheel, means for braking: (said: drivemeans aaricontrolrlever mounted .forlmovementa towards and away fromsaid wheel, meansyieldinglyrurg mg saidxeontrollever. into engagement'with said cam wheelganoperating' lever disposed adjacent said; controlleverand operatively connected to said locking means into locking engagement with said operating lever as said control lever engages said cam member, said means for urgingsaidzcontrol lever :into engagement with .saidwheelamov ing said operating leverinto "its-brake means actuating position when said control lever be-l comes disengaged from said'cam member.

6.-The; combination of claim 2 wherein. said brake meansincludes a brake'drum 'operatively' connected to said drive means, anda brakezband' disposed on saiddrum.

WINFIELD F. HORNS.

' References Cited in the-fi1e 'of-this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 433,020 McKellen July 29, 1890 1,201,002 Treadaway et al. Oct. 10,1916 1,448,414 Mietzelfeld Mar. 13', 1923 1,539,489 Hughes'et a1. May 26, 1925 

